Grunny Goes to Work

I planned on being a writer. I was sharing an apartment with my best friend J.J., and he was writing. Then he started selling scripts and becoming "J.J. Abrams." He bought a house and basically got rid of me.

Since I wasn't selling scripts and making millions of dollars, I needed a real job. I worked in the mailroom for Dino De Laurentiis… I drove for movie producer Joel Silver (an amazing guy who taught me, "Don't take shit from anybody," which I assume includes your driver).

But I was still writing and acting, and I really needed a job where I could go on auditions.

So I started a frozen yogurt store called Island Yogurt. The store was on Melrose, but we also delivered to all the studios and local businesses in town. Some people still recognize me as "the yogurt guy."

Grunny (Almost) Doesn't go to Work

My very first job as an actor was for a local company called the Computer Learning Center. It was a testimonial with me looking into the camera and saying, "I graduated from the Computer Learning Center and so can you!"

So I go to sleep the night before and I'm supposed to be on the set at 7am.

I woke up at 8:45am. And it was a 45 minute drive down to the set. I got down there 2 ½ hours late, and they all looked at me like, "Are you out of your fucking mind, fella?" I mean, you can't do this. The one thing you can never do as an actor is be late for a call time. EVER.

I have the tape of it and I look like hell warmed over because I rushed down… it was just terrible. AWFUL.

A great start to a great career.